before she cheats
by MikazukiDreams
Summary: because some people think that love's just a fun game.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: **Because some people think that love's just a fun game.

**_Standard disclaimer applies here_**

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**Before ****_She _****Cheats**

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_Do you even care at all?_

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_Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock. _

12:30 a.m.

_Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock._

1:00 a.m.

She's always late these days.

-x-

The crumpled outfits, the flushed cheeks, the smell of cigarettes and alcohol and _lust- _Sasuke was not oblivious to these things. In fact, he was fully aware of what probably went on behind his back; but he doesn't want to admit it.

Admitting it would be like burning his manly pride, confessing that he wasn't good enough, and embarrassing himself in the eyes of the public even more than he already has.

As the son of the famous corporate leader Fugaku Uchiha, many had expected him- the CEO, of course, while his brother took care of security and the police force- to date a pretty, polite, wealthy girl and eventually marry her, and carry on the legacy of the Uchiha. They had expected him to carry the company on his shoulders and to be the mature, responsible adult at the young age of 21, fresh out of university.

But he didn't. And it wasn't because he was a bad kid, either; Sasuke wasn't much of a rebel. He obeyed his parents like any good son would, but he met _her _on his way to the coffee shop one day and he'd fallen for her, and they've been dating ever since.

It should have been like any cliché love story- boy meets girl in the big, scary world. And being a university senior with no past experiences in love, Sasuke had assumed that he would have privacy with his girlfriend.

…Apparently not.

Within days- no, wait- _hours _of the "life-changing" event, Sasuke's face was placed on the front page of every newspaper, on every tabloid, on every gossip website. His father had been steaming mad when he heard of the news (it was pretty much _impossible _not to have heard about it, anyway) and had stormed into Sasuke's office, onyx eyes blazing with pure fury and face flushed a deep red with anger.

"What were you _thinking, _son?" Fugaku had yelled, slamming his palms down hard on the polished chestnut desk. "Dating someone like _her? _Are you trying to ruin this family?"

Sasuke had been angry that day, too- after all, it was his life. He didn't want people to choose what he had to do, especially not with his love life. He'd snapped back at his father, threatened to destroy the company if Fugaku refused to leave him alone, and said, with anger laced through his words,

"I love her, father."

-x-

It's almost 2:00 a.m. when she stumbles in the door, reeking of booze and cigarettes, hair ruffled in an unruly manner and lips on fire.

"Hey, baby," she warbles when she her eyes fall on Sasuke, waiting in the kitchen for her. She watches him with wide, curious eyes and smiles flirtatiously, sauntering over and sitting down across the table from him.

Sasuke doesn't reply.

He has an important business meeting the following morning, a presentation in the afternoon, and a business dinner with a potential client that he should be worrying about. He should be worrying about getting enough sleep and getting all his prep work together.

But he's not.

It's 2:15 a.m. when Sasuke finally caves in to the events that splintered their relationship. It's 2:16 a.m. when Sasuke finally speaks.

"Why have you been so late these past few months, Karin?" he asks, careful to keep his voice steady and calm, because he'd be damned to let her know how close he is to losing his composure.

As expected, she replies with the same thing as every time: "It gets so busy at Kisame's bar, baby. I've been working non-stop since-"

"I called Kisame today."

Her eyes snap up immediately as her tanned skin instantly blanches underneath the layers of makeup. Sasuke know she's struggling to keep her voice steady when she asks, trying to be casual, "What did he tell you, babe? About business? Let me tell you," she says, giggling nervously, "It has just been so crazy these several months and I don't know why."

"He told me you got off at nine tonight. He told me that you've been getting off at nine _for the past few months. _What were you doing, Karin?" Sasuke silently thanks god that his hands are hidden under the table; they're tightened into angry fists, and he's so close to just hitting something. Anything.

"Sasuke, baby, do we have to talk about this now? I'm exhausted," she says, avoiding his question again, and fakes a yawn. She gets up to leaves, but Sasuke stops her with his icy tone.

He's barely containing his anger when he says, "Is Suigetsu good to you?"

Karin's whole body tenses up and her eyes turn wild when she whirls around to him, and he knows that he's hit home.

"I don't know who you're talking about," Karin says stubbornly, trying so hard to get him to change the subject; but Sasuke's finally fed up with her stupid, selfish games.

"Don't you fucking lie to me," he snarls, standing up. She stares at him with shocked eyes. "Don't you fucking pull that shit on me like I'm stupid. I've sacrificed so much for you. You know how much I had to deal with my family when we got together? Do you have any idea? I deserve the truth. I want the truth, and I want it _now._"

Karin, he knows, is never one to contain her anger; and suddenly she's standing up as well, screaming back at him. "You're an asshole," she spats, "and I don't love you. I never did and I never _will_. You've done nothing for me. You're an over possessive son of a bitch and you're turning into your asshole father, Sasuke. You were fine at first, but then eventually you just had to listen to everyone else who said that I wasn't good enough for you, like I'd dreaded. It's like you're keeping me around just for the sake of it, and I _hate _it. I _hate _you!"

And then she's running into the bedroom and Sasuke stands frozen as he hears the sounds of zippers and wheels and the opening and closing of drawers.

Karin storms out like a hurricane, red eyes swollen with tears, her things packed into multiple suitcases and a photo of their happier times in her hand.

"Suigetsu treats me like a queen, Sasuke, no matter what happens. He accepts me for who I am and knows that I'll never be royalty material. He knows me inside and out and he knows shit about I've never told anyone, and he loves me and he makes me happy. He _cares _for me. I'm not just some shiny toy he plays with," she sobs angrily.

"What are you trying to say?" Sasuke replies calmly, even though he knows what's coming.

Karin's ruby eyes flare with bitter anger as she throws the picture of them down hard on the hard tiled floor. The glass shatters and the frame breaks, pieces flying everywhere.

"I'm saying that I'm leaving, Sasuke," she sneers, opening the front door. "I'm saying I'm dumping your sorry ass for Suigetsu. I'm saying _fuck you _and your whole family for treating me like I'm nothing, and good-_fucking_-luck in finding another girl who can deal with your asshat shit."

The door is slammed hard behind her, and Sasuke doesn't bother going to check to see if she's okay or not. He stumbles past the glass, shocked but not really surprised at what happened.

His chest is numb as her last taunting words spear through his heart.

Grabbing the liquor from the cabinet, Sasuke slides down to the floor, uncaring for the glass, and pops the bottle open.

It's going to be a long night.

-x-

_Where…where am I? _

Blinding white light burns his eyes as he squints, pulling himself up. Red digits screaming 11:30 a.m. fall into view somewhere in the blurry fog. There's a sterile smell that fills his nostrils as he groans loudly, finally blinking and taking in the setting.

He's no longer in his kitchen like he'd expected to be; instead, he's in a clean hospital room. It's white- white walls, white sheets, white windows- so white that's he's suddenly angry. Angry as the flashbacks of the night before wake in his memory, flooding back and knocking the breath out of him.

Karin _broke up _with him. Him, the CEO of the most successful company in all of the country. Him, the one with all the money and luxury and success.

She broke up with him for _Suigetsu. _Suigetsu, who didn't have a steady job and drank all the time, who took girls home from the bar (sometimes multiple girls at a time) and "showed them a fun time". He played and used and dumped girls like toys.

Sasuke still can't believe it.

Pushing himself off the clean bed, his head pounding as he teeters unsteadily towards the door, before it opens up quickly in his face.

"Good morning," a polite voice says and a sweet-looking girl donning a lab coat walks in, clipboard in hand. Sasuke watches as it takes her a split second to realize that he was out of bed, and before he knows what's going on, there's a soft hand leading him back to the bed.

"What do you think you're doing, Uchiha sir?"

His voice is hoarse when he answers, "How did I get here?"

Her eyes-which are a brilliant shade of emerald green, he notes- soften as a pink smile curves across her pale face. "Your friend Naruto sent you here this morning, around five a.m. He was worried about you, and he didn't leave until six this morning because he had to go to work.

"You were completely passed out and you kept throwing up repeatedly during the night, so I had to change the sheets a few times. I gave you a dose a medicine around five-thirty this morning, so you should be good for now." Looking at him sympathetically, she adds, "You must have a terrible headache right now, don't you?" Smacking herself in the forehead, she hastily puts down the clipboard.

"I'll get you a drink of water. Stay where you are."

She's flying back in within seconds with a fresh cup of what in her hand, and when she leans in close to Sasuke to hand him the cup, he gets a whiff of her scent- like fresh vanilla. It's not the smell of perfume, really. It's more like a natural scent, sweet and heavenly.

He takes his time drinking the water, and watches her closely from the corner of his eye. She's very pretty, he decides, and she looks around his age. But there's a touch of innocence and naivety in her face, which doesn't surprise him much. She's got long, bubblegum pink hair and the brightest eyes he'd ever seen; pale smooth skin, and a very slim and petit body. He can't quite see the lustrous gold nametag pinned neatly to her spotless white lab coat, and suddenly he's interested in this pink fairy girl who saved his life.

When he's done drinking the cold water, he takes the time to ask casually, "So are you volunteering here, or…?"

The girl looks at him and smiles. "No," she says, sighing. "I get that a lot. I'm actually a doctor here." A light yawn escapes her lips, and she looks sheepish.

"I'm sorry," she says. "I've been working since six last night, so I'm pretty exhausted."

He doesn't contain his surprise when he comments incredulously, "You're a doctor?"

"Yeah," the pretty girl replies, "I'm actually 23."

"I'm 23 as well," Sasuke says, still astonished. "But I'm sure you know that already. And you are…?"

"Sakura Haruno," the girl says, and Sasuke decides that her name does suit her perfectly, from her fresh green eyes to her baby pink hair- just like a beautiful spring day.

"Sasuke," he introduces himself, and sticks out his hand. She takes it in hers, and Sasuke marvels at how smooth her skin is.

"It's nice to meet you, Sasuke."

There's a mega watt smile on her face and Sasuke decides he likes that look on her.

-x-

He's checked out the next day, but his mind is still wondering of the pretty young doctor with the smooth hands and jeweled eyes.

She's the first girl (besides Karin, but he refuses to think of her now) to capture his interest in barely an hour, and she seems sweet and conserved enough to be with.

He wonders if Sakura Haruno- _doctor _Sakura Haruno- was free. If she had a boyfriend. Maybe a fiancé? But of course, that wouldn't stop Sasuke from liking her.

But then, Karin's taunting voice comes back, sneering and snarling and whispering nasty things in his mind, and the only to get rid of it is to _drink. _Drinking helps him dull out his senses; it helps him forget the world he lives in now, lonely and bitter and useless.

He hates that feeling.

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_to be continued..._

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**Note: **so this is what i've been working on this past few weeks. it's actually finished on my laptop, but it's over 18 pages on Microsoft Word and over 7k words, so i didn't want to bore anybody with some long story. i broke it up into pieces here, and i'll put up another fragment tomorrow. it's 1:46 a.m. and i'm kinda tired, so whatever. gotta savor the limited amount of sleep that i actually get, yafeelme?

but yeah, tell me what you guys think. i love hearing from y'all! :)

Hugs and kisses and starbucks,

-A


	2. Chapter 2

"Teme, you asshole, you can't keep doing this!" Naruto Uzumaki, his dick of a best friend, exclaims when he storms into Sasuke's office, stacks of folders in hand and the latest newspaper clutched tightly in his hand.

Naruto's not the only one that's been scolding him lately; his father had just lectured him a few hours ago, and had the _nerve _to send in Itachi and Mikoto to yell at him as well. He rolls his eyes and scowls nastily.

"Doing what?" But Sasuke knows. Naruto's known him for longer than he could ever remember, and it's impossible to slip details under the annoying blonde's nose. So of course, the scattered papers cluttered all over Sasuke's desk, the unfinished presentations splayed all over his Mac, and the messy attire he is wearing catches Naruto's attention in a bat of an eye.

It's caught Naruto's attention for a few months, really. Sasuke just doesn't care anymore.

The newspaper's slammed down hard on Sasuke's desk, covering all the other documents. There's nothing really significant on the paper besides the "UCHIHA CORP. CEO SASUKE UCHIHA SEEN AGAIN WITH YET ANOTHER KONOHA BEAUTY" scrawled across the front page, with an image of Sasuke, his arm looped around a scarcely dressed girl, his lips working in frenzy with hers.

It'd happened about two days ago. It's no longer a shock to him or Naruto or anybody in his family; he changes his girls after he's done with them. Ironically, after the way he'd scorned Suigetsu, Sasuke can now admit he's a hypocrite. But who can blame him? At 22, he's only ever had one girlfriend, an annoying blonde (who just got engaged to Hinata Hyuuga, some kind of business royalty) for a best friend, and more stress than he could possibly handle alone. He's lonely, whether anybody believes it or not, and he doesn't really mean to hurt those girls.

He just does.

Naruto's suddenly yelling at him, voice worried and angry, "You're gonna stop this now, teme. You're causing a scene and you're ruining your reputation!"

Sasuke knows he has no right to be mad, because Naruto's never been more right, but he can't help but snap back viciously, "Ruin my reputation? I've already done that! It's been already done! Or did you miss the whole Karin problem I had?"

"Get over her already, Sasuke!"Naruto snarls, "You knew damn well it wasn't going to be forever. You _knew. _Don't pretend like she was ever going to be with you forever, Sasuke. Someone like her isn't going to slow down for someone like _you. _You offered her a steady job, Sasuke, and she turned it down like nothing. She chose working in a crazy bar, for heaven's sake, over you!_"_

"Then tell me who would if you're so smart," Sasuke replies back, furious. "Tell me what other fucking person _out there _is going to deal with my shit after all this-" he said, pointing at the newspaper, "after all this shit's been exposed to public and I'm seen as nothing but a _man-whore_."

"You brought that on yourself!" Naruto finally screams, exasperated. "You didn't have to deal with it that way!"

"If Hinata ever broke up with you," Sasuke seethes, "you wouldn't be complaining about my shit, you dickhead."

Sasuke's fully geared up for a fight, but Naruto suddenly seems wary. "I went to the Konoha Hospital this morning. I asked for Sakura. I didn't say anything about your breakup, just mentioned that you were having a rough time," he adds, pointedly ignoring Sasuke's vicious glare.

"She said she gets off at ten tonight." His cerulean blue eyes look at Sasuke's tiredly. "If you know what I'm implying, I think it's better for you to be around sweet people like Sakura. She's really different than the other girls you've been with, Sasuke. Even Karin."

And with that the folders are placed carefully on his desk and within minutes, Sasuke's office is quiet once again.

-x-

The blush that spreads across her pale cheeks makes Sasuke smirk with pride, a giddy feeling rising in his chest at the pretty sight. Seeing her smile made his day, really, and it made him forget that _this isn't real, it's only a scheme to forget Karin, and I'm only trying to make Karin jealous…_

He'd pulled up in the hospital parking lot at exactly 10:01 pm, his sleek black Volvo blending in with the already pitch-black night sky. Just as he was about to ask for Dr. Haruno, the pink-haired beauty herself rushed by him, and he'd called out to her. She'd whirled around looking completely shocked, and he quickly blurted out his request for a date the following day.

…She said yes.

-x-

Sasuke takes all the measures to make sure that their first date is flawless and unforgettable; although Sakura doesn't seem like the picky kind of girl that loves to dress up and go to expensive places, he finds the need to impress her.

He asks his mother to go shopping with him, and they pick out a perfect dress for a girl like Sakura- it's a chiffon dress, soft to the touch, a bright shade of scarlet red, and flows down like a cascading waterfall. It's soft and gorgeous and outstanding like her, and Sasuke knows that she will look stunning in it.

When he shows her the dress, Sakura's eyes widen and her cheeks tint slightly, and right off the bat Sasuke knows that she loves it.

He makes reservations at the most expensive restaurant in town, picks out his best suit, and is at her door by seven.

Sasuke's sure his heart skips a few beats when she emerges from her house, hair tied up in an elegant hairdo with a few loose strands curling by her ears, a tiny diamond necklace around her smooth neck and diamond teardrops in her ears. She looks amazing. Incredible.

…Beautiful.

Throughout the night, there's chatting and smiling and laughing between the two of them, and it's nothing Sasuke has ever experienced before. This pretty fairy girl doctor brings out something in him that he never knew he had.

Things only turn for the worst when a redhead walks by; not Karin, but a girl with the same flaming red hair and exaggerated strut- and suddenly Karin's nasty words and haunting voice fills his mind, blocking out everything else.

His hands blanch as they tighten into fists, and he narrows his eyes sharply. Sakura, being as observant as a doctor is to be, takes immediate notice.

"Sasuke? Are you okay?" Sakura looks genuinely concerned with her bright green eyes and stunning features, and all the while Sasuke wants to scream _no, I'm not okay and I'll never be okay I'm a mess you see _he doesn't. Because Sakura doesn't know about the whole Karin deal and Sasuke wants to keep it that way.

So he strains a smile, lifts up his wine glass, and downs the drink after clinking glasses with her.

-x-

Sasuke knows it's wrong to use such a pretty girl with healing hands and a kind heart like Sakura, but he's in too deep to care.

After a series of well planned dates, she's well wrapped around his elegant finger. He knows, from this point on, she'd do whatever he would want her to do; this sense of control, of male dominance, excites him.

So he takes her to Kisame's bar around eight, because that's when he knows Karin will be working and he knows that she will be watching. Deep down he desperately _hopes _that she'd throw a jealous fit and come running back to him, because he's so much better than Suigetsu Hozuki and Karin knows it.

And sure enough, she is.

Sasuke takes the moment to grab Sakura's hand, which is smooth and cool. She looks at him, shocked, and he's shocked too; he was never one for public displays of affection. It was considered sloppy and desperate and showy in his mind, but now he doesn't even care.

Her fingers, painted aqua green, intertwine with his as a small smile replaces the surprised expression. His mind freezes for an instant before the loud clacking of heels approaches their table in the bar. The smell of booze and fruity tequila shots start to overwhelm him, blurring his mind and his hand unconsciously tightens around Sakura's petite one. He notices her look around the bar, the tinge of nervousness in her viridian eyes.

She looks out of place in this crazy bar, with her dark denim skinny jeans and white cardigan, hair tumbling down in perfect curls down her back and pink bangs swept back. Meanwhile, there's girls in tight leather miniskirts, little black dresses that show off _way _too much skin (in his opinion), and little white shorts that would put Wonderwoman to shame. The rest of the girls are all crazy and wild, screaming and hollering and singing off-key at the top of their lungs, while Sakura sits quietly beside Sasuke, hand intertwined in his.

He feels stupid for bringing her here.

Kisame's Bar is no place for someone pure like Sakura Haruno.

Kisame's been friends with Sasuke's older brother, Itachi, for years. They'd gone to school together, played on the same hockey team, did competitive swim together, and started up a high school band together. In one word, Kisame was loyal to the Uchiha family. Which meant Kisame would never lie to him.

Itachi had helped him start up his business several years ago. Back then, it wasn't very popular; business was rough for Kisame, who had to compete with one of the most well-known bars in town: Sasori's Drinks. Eventually with the help of some renovating and new ideas, Kisame's Bar started up once again, with full force: it was converted into a sleek, metal-and-glass building, with a party club inside. There were speakers that could wake up the entire city in Kisame's precious bar, with disco balls and neon lights and DJ stands. It was perfect, and business bloomed.

Sasuke, coincidentally, got to know Karin better because of this place; the coffee shop he went to every morning was just down the street from the bar, and every morning he would walk past Karin. He found out later that she worked for Kisame at his bar, having moved from Oto with no money or job or family. He became intrigued with her over time; she was an interesting character, flashy and loud and bossy, with her unusually red hair and fierce attitude…

…the same attitude she's giving him now.

"What would you like," a voice snaps rudely, and Sasuke looks up to the cold eyes of Karin. Her outfit is much too tight for her body, exposing too much cleavage. Her eyes are lined with heavy makeup, a bright red lipstick painted across her lips.

"Tequila shots," he answers back coolly, gripping Sakura's cool hand. Karin scribbles down the order, and when Sasuke thinks she is going to strut away, she doesn't.

She takes notice of Sakura within a millisecond, and a nasty sneer curves her lips. "Is this your new toy, Sasuke? I'd say you have a peculiar taste," she laughs airily, bitterly. "Let's see if you can keep this one around, huh?"

And then she's laughing giddily, prancing away.

Sasuke stares after her, dumbfounded.

She doesn't care.

_She doesn't care. _

That night, Sasuke drinks and drinks and drinks, snarling angrily at Sakura when she murmurs for him to stop. Being a kind person like Sakura is, she doesn't ask any questions. Instead, she takes the keys out of his jacket pocket and leads him out to his car. She drives him home in silence, and when she turns on the light as he stumbles into his condo, he's in such an unstable state that he doesn't control himself.

The minute the door shuts behind them he throws himself at Sakura, bruising her with kisses and slamming her up against the wall. She tastes sweet like French vanilla and cream, and he's so beyond gone that the rest of the night is lost in a blur.

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_to be continued..._

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**Note: **and here's chapter 2. i ended up dividing this huge story into four parts of kinda equal length, and i tried not to cut them off in the middle of nowhere...it's not exactly the greatest transition into the next chapter but i tried. seriously.

and yeah there's a reason i rated this story M, but i don't describe anything that really, ya know, happens. i'm really not the type, so if you want you can leave that to your own imagination.

thanks for all your feedback/favorites/follows, you guys are the best and i love you all.

xoxo

-A


	3. Chapter 3

When daylight streams through his window the next morning, Sasuke becomes aware of two things: one, there's a girl in his bed; and two, he had a pounding headache.

It's never more shocking when he turns and focuses his vision on the girl beside him, who is wide awake and staring at him with big green eyes, her pale pink locks in array after the previous night's actions. Her mouth is chapped and parted in a tired expression, and she doesn't speak a single word to him.

It's Sakura_._

It's pure, virginal, and innocent _Sakura_.

The previous night's activities come hurling back at him within a second, and despite his mind-shattering headache he bolts upright, grabs his clothes and backs away to the bathroom. He doesn't say anything, doesn't want to hear the voice of the girl he just deflowered the previous night, so ruthlessly and harshly. He hadn't meant to. It wasn't supposed to happen.

Sinking to the bathroom floor, he can't help but wonder if Karin's right- if he really is just an asshole, if no girl would really wants to stay in his life.

-x-

She's gone when he exits the bathroom; an excruciating, self-hating hour he'd spent in the washroom, attempting to rid any trace of the sins he'd committed the previous night off his body.

She'd tidied up all her clothes, and even left him a cooked breakfast on his kitchen table. It's the first time ever a woman other than his mother has cooked him a meal. There's no note, no text, no messages left for him anywhere.

As he sits down to eat the delicious-looking food she'd prepared for him (after staring at it, surprised, for five minutes), he decides that yes, he really _is _an asshole.

-x-

It's two weeks before he starts seeing her again, and this time he promises himself that he will not touch her, will not cause any more damage than he has already done to their relationship.

He doesn't know why he cares so much for this relationship he has with this young doctor with the haunting green eyes. After all, she's merely a distraction for his breakup with Karin. Nevertheless, he picks her up every Friday night to take her to a fancy new restaurant or an older restaurant they'd visited that he knew she liked; he buys her stunning new gowns and massive amounts of the most expensive jewelry; he's courteous and kind, because she is merely a distraction, as he repeatedly reminds himself each passing day, and distractions are not _real. _

It's getting harder and harder to see her as one, though. When he had learned that she loved to read, he'd had a library installed into one of the extra spaces he'd had in his company office building. He doesn't know why, really- that space could've been made into anything else useful to him- but somehow it just felt right. She'd squealed with happiness when she saw it and kissed him with stars in her eyes, and Sasuke marveled at how _good _it felt.

He makes sure to do everything perfectly, like he'd done before, except this time he does it with extra care, taking extra time to make sure things are okay, making sure she's happy and smiling. He makes sure he does things correctly so she'll give him sweet kisses to show that she's grateful- and sure enough, she _does_.

And he knows Sakura well enough; as according to his plan, she's once again wrapped around his finger, trusting and gentle and open-minded.

He doesn't take her to the bar again, because he likes her that way.

-x-

It's not even three months later when Sasuke's world comes crashing down.

It's only 2 p.m., but he'd been up since five working on a meeting presentation he would be having later that day with the exclusive Sarutobi Corp., and he wants to make sure things are done right for this important meeting and that everything will flow smoothly. He'd sent flowers to Konoha Hospital for one special Dr. Haruno, inviting her out to dinner again that night. Everything is going nicely for Sasuke Uchiha.

But he should've known when Karin marched into his office that something was off. But he didn't.

He only stares, shocked, with widened eyes when the fiery redhead come running in the door with heels that are much too high, sobbing, black mascara running down her tanned cheeks.

He's still shocked when she cries out, "Sasuke, he broke up with me!" and launches herself into his unsuspecting arms, causing him to lean back on his leather chair and roll back against the chestnut brown desk.

She crying uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face and marring all the makeup she'd put on. Her hair is an absolute rat's nest, messy and wild and unruly. "H-he told me he d-didn't l-love me," she hiccups, while Sasuke sits rigid on his chair, narrowing his onyx eyes at her. "I know you still want me, baby," she whispers against his ear, lips brushing the outer shell. "I know you're just using that pink-haired freak as a…_distraction._" There's lust and want overflowing in her eyes, darkening and attempting to lure him in.

It's 2:15 p.m. when Karin leans forward and crashes her lips against Sasuke.

It takes barely a second to process this action in his cluttered mind, and then his instincts kick in, pulling him away because her kisses no longer feel familiar. They're no longer _longed. _Karin's nothing like sweet, gentle, kind and strong Sakura Haruno. Now Sasuke knows why Sakura is so different from Karin; Sakura showed him nothing but love in her actions, while Karin only acted as an obligation. Sakura was never a distraction- that was only something he fed to his conscience. She caught his attention right from the start.

It's 2:15 p.m. when Sasuke realizes that all this time, he's been in love with Sakura Haruno, the prettiest girl he's ever seen and a clever, caring doctor to add onto that.

He's pulling himself away, but the harder he wrestles against Karin's weight the more persistent she becomes, wrapping her legs around his waist. It's almost as if she's trying to keep him there a little longer. Like she's waiting- or wanting- something to happen.

There's a rustle of plastic at the door that catches Sasuke's attention, and with one final push he yanks Karin off of him…

…only to see Sakura, with astonished, angry green eyes- green eyes that, much to his horror, begin filling with crystal tears, her hand still clutching the bouquet of flowers he'd bought for her. There's a coffee cup in her hand that he knows is for him, the way his name is scribbled across the white exterior in her neat handwriting, a habit she did so she didn't mix up their drinks.

The words are caught in his throat when she shakes her head, walks into his office and places the coffee with the flowers beside them on his desk. She backs away to the door, the anger fading in her eyes along with the light that lit up her brilliant orbs and with one last heartbreaking smile she whispers, "I'm sorry for interrupting. Goodbye, Sasuke." She turns and takes off in a run from his office door, and within seconds Sasuke's up, pushing Karin to the floor and leaping to his office door, yelling, "Sakura! Sakura, wait!"

He's ready to run after her when there's a cold hand that's placed on his shoulder, and he turns to see Karin, smirking triumphantly and wiping her cheeks. The smirk on her face gives everything away, as realization dawns on him in an instant, turning his stomach to lead.

It'd been an act. It'd all been an _act. _

That fucking _bitch. _

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," she sneers, her features twisted in ugly triumph. "How will you _ever _find a girl like her?" She says it carelessly and with all the snotty attitude that makes Sasuke question why he had ever thought that he loved her. Loved this heartless home wrecker. This stupid cheating _skank _that ruined his life. It makes him question why he'd ever want to get back with her...why he had been risking Sakura for this selfish girl.

Sasuke glares at her with all the hate in the world burning in his eyes. "Get the fuck out of my office," he snarls angrily. He's well aware that all his employees are watching him, especially Naruto with his concerned blue eyes. "Get the _fuck _out of my life, you fucking whore. If I see your skanky little ass on my property again, you can primp up your ass in fucking jail. And," he adds, "if you screwed this up for me, if you ruined everything I had with that girl, who more talented than you'll _ever_ fucking be, I will personally _murder _you, do you fucking understand?"

There's terror in her eyes when Karin scrambles back, nearly tripping over her stilettos before running down the stairs and out of his sight. Naruto glances at him worriedly, but seeing the destroyed look on Sasuke face he notions for all the employees to get back to work, and gives Sasuke a brief nod before pulling out his cellphone to call up Itachi and mention the security issue.

Sasuke sighs, running an anxious hand through his dark hair, agitated.

In an impulsive moment, he grabs his jacket and runs out to his car, taking off for Sakura's apartment. He isn't going down without a fight, he decides. He's not ready to let her go. She's too important, too big of a part in his life to just disintegrate from it. No.

It's 2:16 p.m. when Sasuke loses everything.

_._

_._

_._

_to be continued..._

* * *

**Note:** heyyyyy and thanks for all the support on this story, it was fun to write. the next chapter will be the last one. if you have any questions or whatever you can ask by PM or by tumblr if you want a faster reply... anyways it'd be great if you took the time to give me your opinion of this story, it took me a while to write and i wanna know how decent it is, yafeelme? :)

love y'all!

-A


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